Contest Recap

Now that Sophie Anne is sleeping soundly, I can devote some blogging time to recapping the contest pitting France versus the United States. As per the rules, the contest ended once our daughter had tasted her first breath of air, and at that time, the score was 17-17: a tie. That's right, you heard it here first: it's equally nice to live in France as in America. Quite frankly, I am relieved with the result. Hopefully this will help in mending the Franco-American relationship that has deteriorated to some degree in recent years.

The following is a blow-by-blow recap of the contest by category:

Presidential Election: France 1-0
television shows : U.S. 1-1
street sign system: U.S. 1-2
fries : France 2-2
food carts on the side of the street : France 3-2
dog friendliness : U.S. 3-3
comic books : U.S. 3-4
cereal variety: U.S. 3-5
“old shit” (e.g., museums, artifacts, etc): France 4-5
the pancake versus the crepe tie: 4.5-5.5
meat : U.S. 4.5-6.5
the euro versus the dollar : France 5.5-6.5
public transportation : France 6.5-6.5
men’s swimsuit fashion (aka “the Speedo issue”) : U.S. 6.5-7.5
corn : U.S. 6.5-8.5
timing of “Don’t Walk” signs at crosswalks: U.S. 6.5-9.5
tipping versus not tipping at restaurants : France 7.5-9.5
degree of annoying billboards : France 8.5-9.5
national anthems : tie 9-10
evil, faceless corporations: France 10-10
thermometer orifice placement*: U.S. 10-11
bread : France 11-11
average educational level of the common man : France 12-11
keyboard layout: U.S. 12-12
life expectancy : France 13-12
Tony Paker wins MVP of NBA Playoffs: France 14-12
overall military performance during WWII: U.S. 14-13
Marilyn Monroe versus Brigette Bardot : U.S. 14-14
convenience : U.S. 14-15
chance to see boobs on major network television: France 15-15
health care system : France 16-15
having a language where all nouns have a gender U.S.**: 15-15
ice versus no-ice in water at restaurants : U.S. 15-16
mealtime schedule : France 16-16
minimum wage (he-ya!): France 17-16
Nobel Prizes per capita : U.S. 17-17

*I have heard since that in hospital currently thermometer placement does not routinely occur via the rectal route, and indeed during Claire's hospitalization they used an ear thermometer. However, just the idea that some French children have grown up having a thermometer shoved up their ass is enough for me to keep the ruling as is.
**in this instance, one point was subtracted from the French side.

One surprise: looking only at food-related categories, there was also a three-way tie (U.S. winning corn, meat, and cereal categories with France winning fries, bread, and food carts, with a tie result between the pancake/crepe comparison). I would be the first to admit that in the overall category of Food as a whole, France should be superior.

I also admit that several of the categories were ridiculous and silly: whereas evaluating the efficacy of the health care system is legimitately important, whether or not one can catch a glimpse of nudity on the television at night is, in the overall scheme of things, not such a big deal. The category choice was mostly a function of things that I had noticed during my stay in France that were obviously different/better/worse than in my home country.

Thanks to both countries for participating!!